[OC] Non-Canon Setting Ideas
Sept 26, 2021 7:08:14 GMT -8
Post by FortunatePilgrim on Sept 26, 2021 7:08:14 GMT -8
We'll build the world together as we go. So this is all just potential ideas. None of it is official canon material unless we say it is. Feel free to take anything from here you think is fun or useful, and feel free to discard anything that doesn't work for you.
The Land, or the Continent, or the Continent of the Speaking People: a single vast landmass that contains the Known World. It is very large, very diverse, and quite widely traveled but very poorly mapped. It as infinite or as local as we need it to be. If you want to be from somwhere in the Forgotten Realms, maybe all of Faerun is 'up north someplace.' Maybe Eberron is 'over those mountains' or the deserts of Dark Sun are 'out past Godfall.'
The Speaking People: the collective term for the many sentient races that live on the Continent, all of them winding the complex, delicate path between self-determination and community. They say if you walk far enough, you can find people doing just about anything. Maybe there are arboreal halflings who believe that touching the ground condemns their souls to torment. Or dwarves who master maths instead of crafts and build casinos instead of forges. Intelligent firebreathing lizards who worship volcanoes. Anything.
Humans: there are two common stories about the origin of humans. The first is that they were the original inhabitants of the Continent and all the other Speaking People came from 'somewhere else' much later. The second is that everyone else was here first and they came last, as an invasive or conquering species. Both stories lean heavily on the fact that humans are by far the most numerous race, and live in a far wider variety of ways in a far wider variety of environments than most of the other Speaking People; and that they are more likely to see the world and land in terms its resources rather than as something with value in its own right.
Elves: you can find all the kinds of elves on the Continent. The xenophobic isolationist kind, the happy-go-lucky forest-dancing kind, the tall stern every-word-I-say-sounds-like poetry kind, and a bunch in between. A few things are mostly true about most elves most of the time: they don't mix well with other nations, and even when they live other places, they tend to see themselves as elves first, and anything else second (if at all); they value independence and self-sufficiency and freedom from possessions more than most races, so they tend away from technology and toward magic, away from weapons and toward monastic tradition and away from large complex urban societies and toward smaller agrarian communities with little formal leadership, and their economy tends toward abstract concentrated wealth (like gems or small expensive art objects) rather than coins or barter. Some legends have elves inventing arcane magic, some have them made by magic, some have them made OF magic. Elven sorcerors tend to feel one way, and elven wizards another (and both can be VERY intense about it). They have little discinction between their divine and magical traditions and their divine and arcane schools, organizations and cosmology mix and combine in strange and complex ways.
Dwarves: there are three Great Ancient Dwarfholds: the Dwimmerluk to the north, the Fortress Lands of Khartuum to the East, and the Dungeons of Godspire right in the middle of the Continent. Dwarves leave their homelands rarely, and almost always in very small groups (individuals or small tight-knit groups, often in non-dwarf parties). Their economy is based around powerful trade guilds and their currency is a coin called a 'bhat' which represents one day of unskilled labour. Every trade has a complex set of contracts detailing precisely how many bhat their labour is worth to every other trade, and vice versa. Once every six years the entire dwarven economy shuts down for a month as every trade aggressively re-negotiates their contracts. Because dwarven money is almost literally 'unclaimed labour vouchers' wealth is seen as 'labour that's been given to society and not taken back out' and so hoarding wealth is seen as a worthwhile, almost noble pursuit. Their gods are most often seen as the enforcers of universal rules and prinicples (rather than their creators or originators).
Halflings: they have few lands of their own. It's more common for them to exist within larger realms, sometimes in separated, defined communities, sometimes not. Their story about themselves speaks of a utopian agrarian society they once had, quite and serene and far from the cares of the 'Big Folk' that was taken from them due to the fallout of a divine war. They say the deity responsible felt terrble about it and has taken care of them ever since. Prayer for them is more like cashing in a voucher than supplication, and their theology leans heavily on the idea of gods as basically just bigger, strongers versions of mortals. Halflings don't believe in (or claim they don't believe in) truth in the absolute sense (in their language, the word for 'lying' and 'interesting' are the same). The halfling's view of the 'self' is an endless progression of performances with no 'core' beneath. One Halfing philosopher used to say, "Who am I? Another mask, please." Halflings have a lot of stories about themselves that gleefully contradict each other and they don't see that as a problem. It's hard to pin down how much of they say is what they 'really' believe and how much is symbolic or deliberately provocative (or if they even see any difference). They frequently present as nonbinary and pansexual and nonmonogamous. Scandalous stories about their 'fertility festivals' are whispered in hushed tones and clutched pearls everywhere on the Continent. Their internal economy is based entirely on favours and status among internal clan divisions that halflings take very seriously but never seem to agree on and that no outsider has ever managed to understand (there might be three, or nine, or seventeen clans, or maybe none, it depends who you ask and how you ask). In many places their lack of a cohesive national or racial identity does a weird backflip and makes them seen as politically neutral and valued as diplomats and mediators for hire. In places with a lot of halflings short people are often vaguely assumed to be smarter than tall people. Anywhere you go, "Three foot fair" is a common way to compliment someone on their objectivity, fairness, or tact and "Too tall for thinking" to condemn the opposite.
Gnomes: almost all the stories gnomes tell about themselves feature them coming to the Continent from Across the Sea, on highly advanced seagoing vessels. Their stories always feature a Golden Age of sorts where the whole world was a model of rational, logical, order and gnomes (being the smartest and the most rational) were in chanrge of everything, and wonders were produced the likes of which the world has never seen again. A lot of their frantic learning and building and inventing is fueled by the desire to recapture or reclaim this age and their place within it. There are a number of gnomish lands and they are also commonly found in other lands. Their own governments are often highly complex, highly legalistic hybrids of hereditary, elected and appointed offices. They're big on double-checks and forcing various bodies to cooperate into to get anything done. This causes endless bureaucratic gridlock in peacetime, but whenever a gnome nation is roused and united by a common enemy, the results can be terrifying. "Sleeping Gnome" or "Quiet Gnome" is a byword for a nearby lurking threat almost everywhere. And 'The gnomes were fighting" is a commmon way to express just barely avoiding some misfortune.
Dragonborn: gregarious, charismatic, well-liked, known for their firce morals, and cursed/blessed with endless wanderlust, the dragonborn were once welcomed everywhere they went. But then a dragon almost destroyed the whole world. Always rare, dragonborn sightings are almost uhheard of. And they are now often hated and driven out of civilized lands. The only Speaking People that treat them well are the halflings and the orcs.
Orcs (and/or Half-Orcs): Orcs are quite numerous on the Continent, and live both in their own nations, and within other nations as well. They tell two main stories about themselves: either they once ruled all the land and it was taken from them OR they once ruled all the land and they gave it all up to be free. Most places you go, orcs live two kinds of ways: out in the wilds in loosely organized nomadic groups ('Plains Orcs'); or in highly regimented militaristic communities ('War Orcs'). A lot places will have both kinds of orcs in close proximity, and they develop complex and nuanced traditions that support moving from one way to life to the other (and retaining status and position in both). Orcs often develop one specialized skill for use on the plains and then another for life in town and they tend to be talented at picking up languages. It is common to describe polymaths and polyglots all around the world as being 'Orcish' or having 'Orc Sense.'
The Donshen Empire: an expansionist people who absorb other, smaller realms (often through diplomacy) and then tax them and improve them and mostly leave them be. They've been expanding and contracting all across the 'centre' of the Continent for as long as anyone can remember and are seen as a bit of a force of nature. It was them that Khresh was fighting with when the Mad Wyrm was summoned. Pre-Wyrm they actually had a very good reputation (aside from the rampant imperialism). They tried to give their states as much self-rule as they could, and tried to improve living conditions erywhere they ruled. Post-Wrym, they kind of ran out of goodwill and their story has changed from 'benevolent overlords' to 'tyrannical conquerors' and the whole empire is a mess now of states in some phase of revolt.
Khresh: a feudal magocracy. The realm is divided into fiefs, but lordship of those fiefs is decided by performance on standardized tests rather than heredity. The High Senate of the Grand College runs the tests. "Human" in Khresh is defined by 'speech, reason, and memory' and every person in the nation, from the richest to the poorest, takes a test at five years old to determine if they are 'human' or not. Non-humans are shuffled into what amounts to lifelong slavery. They have no Sorcerous tradition. Even the tiniest hint of Sorcerous ability is ruthlessly rooted out and eliminated.
Lhune: a large thickly forested region that, for reasons unknown, has a whole lot of ghosts and a whole lot of ancient ruins. There was once some kind of very advanced society that lived here, but it has long faded from memory. There are a few small communities of Speaking People living in Lhune (elves, humans and gnolls mostly), and a few larger communities around the border, all of whom have very strong divine traditions and a lot of culutral capital spent on dealing with spirits. It is believed that one can contact any spirit in Lhune if you know the right ritual, so it is a bit of a mecca for the kind of person who would want to talk to one particular ghost.
New Haarin: tucked into a very fertile delta surrounded on three sides by mountains, they've had centuries of good relations with the Dwarves of Khartuum. They have all kinds of magitech and their craft goods fetch high prices everywhere. "Haarin-sound" or "Safe as Haarin" are common expressions when describing craftsmanship or fortifications.
Old Sumarra: the oldest realm of the Continent. Even the oldest surviving records talk about Sumarra as an ancient realm with thousands of years of history. The nobility are all a little crazy from inbreeding, and just looking at a noble is punishable by blinding a lot of places. By ancient tradition, every word the Emperor of Sumarra speaks is immediately law, so there's a whole ton of rules surrounding how to deal with that. The Emperor is surrounded by an order of Clerics who gain their power by the reverence for the Emperor as an Ideal. The Emperor sits on the Throne of Thorns an wears the Rose Crown. It is common to swear oaths 'By Thorn and Rose' almost anywhere on the Continent.
Gran: a periloius mountainous region far to the north and west. Ruled over by powerful, oppressive, warring Sorceror Kings for millennia, they have little contact with the rest of the world. The Kings are often served by the Witches of Myr as advisors and seers. The Myrians are a politically savvy, magically talented group of druids and warlocks. They rarely leave Gran but are highly valued for their skills when they do.
Far Miraas: a kingdom nestled against the mountains of Khartuum and the Clean Sea. Aside from a few trading ports, it is a mostly closed society. Miraas is divided into a dizzying array of iron-clad castes that are assigned by birth and control almost every trade and activity. One of the odd offshoots of this system is that people who can talk a good game can travel a few miles and do very well for themselves. There's a small but thriving black market in various ways to cheat the caste system (fake caste-tattoos, accent lessons, secret travel routes). The main exports of Far Miraas are tapestries, a highly prized wood that makes excellent boats called Blosswood, and liars.
Godfall Valley: said to have been formed by the corpse of a god falling from the sky, this is a long, deep, wide valley containing a vast desert. Home to a large number of desert societies with rich traditions of sorcerors and warlocks, as well as the Twin Nations of Mercadia - one of the largest and most complex orcish societies.
World's End: a loose confederation of city states in the far north, beyond the Dwimmerluk. Originally composed of political exiles from Donshen, self-exiled Dwarves from the Dwimmerluk, and native clans of gnolls, it has become a powerful hub of trade due to sea routes along its coast. They call everything sounth 'The Summerlands.' Home to one of the very, very few dwarven nations outside the Dwarfhlolds.
The Land, or the Continent, or the Continent of the Speaking People: a single vast landmass that contains the Known World. It is very large, very diverse, and quite widely traveled but very poorly mapped. It as infinite or as local as we need it to be. If you want to be from somwhere in the Forgotten Realms, maybe all of Faerun is 'up north someplace.' Maybe Eberron is 'over those mountains' or the deserts of Dark Sun are 'out past Godfall.'
The Speaking People: the collective term for the many sentient races that live on the Continent, all of them winding the complex, delicate path between self-determination and community. They say if you walk far enough, you can find people doing just about anything. Maybe there are arboreal halflings who believe that touching the ground condemns their souls to torment. Or dwarves who master maths instead of crafts and build casinos instead of forges. Intelligent firebreathing lizards who worship volcanoes. Anything.
Humans: there are two common stories about the origin of humans. The first is that they were the original inhabitants of the Continent and all the other Speaking People came from 'somewhere else' much later. The second is that everyone else was here first and they came last, as an invasive or conquering species. Both stories lean heavily on the fact that humans are by far the most numerous race, and live in a far wider variety of ways in a far wider variety of environments than most of the other Speaking People; and that they are more likely to see the world and land in terms its resources rather than as something with value in its own right.
Elves: you can find all the kinds of elves on the Continent. The xenophobic isolationist kind, the happy-go-lucky forest-dancing kind, the tall stern every-word-I-say-sounds-like poetry kind, and a bunch in between. A few things are mostly true about most elves most of the time: they don't mix well with other nations, and even when they live other places, they tend to see themselves as elves first, and anything else second (if at all); they value independence and self-sufficiency and freedom from possessions more than most races, so they tend away from technology and toward magic, away from weapons and toward monastic tradition and away from large complex urban societies and toward smaller agrarian communities with little formal leadership, and their economy tends toward abstract concentrated wealth (like gems or small expensive art objects) rather than coins or barter. Some legends have elves inventing arcane magic, some have them made by magic, some have them made OF magic. Elven sorcerors tend to feel one way, and elven wizards another (and both can be VERY intense about it). They have little discinction between their divine and magical traditions and their divine and arcane schools, organizations and cosmology mix and combine in strange and complex ways.
Dwarves: there are three Great Ancient Dwarfholds: the Dwimmerluk to the north, the Fortress Lands of Khartuum to the East, and the Dungeons of Godspire right in the middle of the Continent. Dwarves leave their homelands rarely, and almost always in very small groups (individuals or small tight-knit groups, often in non-dwarf parties). Their economy is based around powerful trade guilds and their currency is a coin called a 'bhat' which represents one day of unskilled labour. Every trade has a complex set of contracts detailing precisely how many bhat their labour is worth to every other trade, and vice versa. Once every six years the entire dwarven economy shuts down for a month as every trade aggressively re-negotiates their contracts. Because dwarven money is almost literally 'unclaimed labour vouchers' wealth is seen as 'labour that's been given to society and not taken back out' and so hoarding wealth is seen as a worthwhile, almost noble pursuit. Their gods are most often seen as the enforcers of universal rules and prinicples (rather than their creators or originators).
Halflings: they have few lands of their own. It's more common for them to exist within larger realms, sometimes in separated, defined communities, sometimes not. Their story about themselves speaks of a utopian agrarian society they once had, quite and serene and far from the cares of the 'Big Folk' that was taken from them due to the fallout of a divine war. They say the deity responsible felt terrble about it and has taken care of them ever since. Prayer for them is more like cashing in a voucher than supplication, and their theology leans heavily on the idea of gods as basically just bigger, strongers versions of mortals. Halflings don't believe in (or claim they don't believe in) truth in the absolute sense (in their language, the word for 'lying' and 'interesting' are the same). The halfling's view of the 'self' is an endless progression of performances with no 'core' beneath. One Halfing philosopher used to say, "Who am I? Another mask, please." Halflings have a lot of stories about themselves that gleefully contradict each other and they don't see that as a problem. It's hard to pin down how much of they say is what they 'really' believe and how much is symbolic or deliberately provocative (or if they even see any difference). They frequently present as nonbinary and pansexual and nonmonogamous. Scandalous stories about their 'fertility festivals' are whispered in hushed tones and clutched pearls everywhere on the Continent. Their internal economy is based entirely on favours and status among internal clan divisions that halflings take very seriously but never seem to agree on and that no outsider has ever managed to understand (there might be three, or nine, or seventeen clans, or maybe none, it depends who you ask and how you ask). In many places their lack of a cohesive national or racial identity does a weird backflip and makes them seen as politically neutral and valued as diplomats and mediators for hire. In places with a lot of halflings short people are often vaguely assumed to be smarter than tall people. Anywhere you go, "Three foot fair" is a common way to compliment someone on their objectivity, fairness, or tact and "Too tall for thinking" to condemn the opposite.
Gnomes: almost all the stories gnomes tell about themselves feature them coming to the Continent from Across the Sea, on highly advanced seagoing vessels. Their stories always feature a Golden Age of sorts where the whole world was a model of rational, logical, order and gnomes (being the smartest and the most rational) were in chanrge of everything, and wonders were produced the likes of which the world has never seen again. A lot of their frantic learning and building and inventing is fueled by the desire to recapture or reclaim this age and their place within it. There are a number of gnomish lands and they are also commonly found in other lands. Their own governments are often highly complex, highly legalistic hybrids of hereditary, elected and appointed offices. They're big on double-checks and forcing various bodies to cooperate into to get anything done. This causes endless bureaucratic gridlock in peacetime, but whenever a gnome nation is roused and united by a common enemy, the results can be terrifying. "Sleeping Gnome" or "Quiet Gnome" is a byword for a nearby lurking threat almost everywhere. And 'The gnomes were fighting" is a commmon way to express just barely avoiding some misfortune.
Dragonborn: gregarious, charismatic, well-liked, known for their firce morals, and cursed/blessed with endless wanderlust, the dragonborn were once welcomed everywhere they went. But then a dragon almost destroyed the whole world. Always rare, dragonborn sightings are almost uhheard of. And they are now often hated and driven out of civilized lands. The only Speaking People that treat them well are the halflings and the orcs.
Orcs (and/or Half-Orcs): Orcs are quite numerous on the Continent, and live both in their own nations, and within other nations as well. They tell two main stories about themselves: either they once ruled all the land and it was taken from them OR they once ruled all the land and they gave it all up to be free. Most places you go, orcs live two kinds of ways: out in the wilds in loosely organized nomadic groups ('Plains Orcs'); or in highly regimented militaristic communities ('War Orcs'). A lot places will have both kinds of orcs in close proximity, and they develop complex and nuanced traditions that support moving from one way to life to the other (and retaining status and position in both). Orcs often develop one specialized skill for use on the plains and then another for life in town and they tend to be talented at picking up languages. It is common to describe polymaths and polyglots all around the world as being 'Orcish' or having 'Orc Sense.'
The Donshen Empire: an expansionist people who absorb other, smaller realms (often through diplomacy) and then tax them and improve them and mostly leave them be. They've been expanding and contracting all across the 'centre' of the Continent for as long as anyone can remember and are seen as a bit of a force of nature. It was them that Khresh was fighting with when the Mad Wyrm was summoned. Pre-Wyrm they actually had a very good reputation (aside from the rampant imperialism). They tried to give their states as much self-rule as they could, and tried to improve living conditions erywhere they ruled. Post-Wrym, they kind of ran out of goodwill and their story has changed from 'benevolent overlords' to 'tyrannical conquerors' and the whole empire is a mess now of states in some phase of revolt.
Khresh: a feudal magocracy. The realm is divided into fiefs, but lordship of those fiefs is decided by performance on standardized tests rather than heredity. The High Senate of the Grand College runs the tests. "Human" in Khresh is defined by 'speech, reason, and memory' and every person in the nation, from the richest to the poorest, takes a test at five years old to determine if they are 'human' or not. Non-humans are shuffled into what amounts to lifelong slavery. They have no Sorcerous tradition. Even the tiniest hint of Sorcerous ability is ruthlessly rooted out and eliminated.
Lhune: a large thickly forested region that, for reasons unknown, has a whole lot of ghosts and a whole lot of ancient ruins. There was once some kind of very advanced society that lived here, but it has long faded from memory. There are a few small communities of Speaking People living in Lhune (elves, humans and gnolls mostly), and a few larger communities around the border, all of whom have very strong divine traditions and a lot of culutral capital spent on dealing with spirits. It is believed that one can contact any spirit in Lhune if you know the right ritual, so it is a bit of a mecca for the kind of person who would want to talk to one particular ghost.
New Haarin: tucked into a very fertile delta surrounded on three sides by mountains, they've had centuries of good relations with the Dwarves of Khartuum. They have all kinds of magitech and their craft goods fetch high prices everywhere. "Haarin-sound" or "Safe as Haarin" are common expressions when describing craftsmanship or fortifications.
Old Sumarra: the oldest realm of the Continent. Even the oldest surviving records talk about Sumarra as an ancient realm with thousands of years of history. The nobility are all a little crazy from inbreeding, and just looking at a noble is punishable by blinding a lot of places. By ancient tradition, every word the Emperor of Sumarra speaks is immediately law, so there's a whole ton of rules surrounding how to deal with that. The Emperor is surrounded by an order of Clerics who gain their power by the reverence for the Emperor as an Ideal. The Emperor sits on the Throne of Thorns an wears the Rose Crown. It is common to swear oaths 'By Thorn and Rose' almost anywhere on the Continent.
Gran: a periloius mountainous region far to the north and west. Ruled over by powerful, oppressive, warring Sorceror Kings for millennia, they have little contact with the rest of the world. The Kings are often served by the Witches of Myr as advisors and seers. The Myrians are a politically savvy, magically talented group of druids and warlocks. They rarely leave Gran but are highly valued for their skills when they do.
Far Miraas: a kingdom nestled against the mountains of Khartuum and the Clean Sea. Aside from a few trading ports, it is a mostly closed society. Miraas is divided into a dizzying array of iron-clad castes that are assigned by birth and control almost every trade and activity. One of the odd offshoots of this system is that people who can talk a good game can travel a few miles and do very well for themselves. There's a small but thriving black market in various ways to cheat the caste system (fake caste-tattoos, accent lessons, secret travel routes). The main exports of Far Miraas are tapestries, a highly prized wood that makes excellent boats called Blosswood, and liars.
Godfall Valley: said to have been formed by the corpse of a god falling from the sky, this is a long, deep, wide valley containing a vast desert. Home to a large number of desert societies with rich traditions of sorcerors and warlocks, as well as the Twin Nations of Mercadia - one of the largest and most complex orcish societies.
World's End: a loose confederation of city states in the far north, beyond the Dwimmerluk. Originally composed of political exiles from Donshen, self-exiled Dwarves from the Dwimmerluk, and native clans of gnolls, it has become a powerful hub of trade due to sea routes along its coast. They call everything sounth 'The Summerlands.' Home to one of the very, very few dwarven nations outside the Dwarfhlolds.